The
Daily Iowan
PREGAME
CHASING HISTORY
As Kirk Ferentz nears the all-time Big Ten record, his sta and players reflect on the accomplishment.
5 things to watch
fans at Jack Trice Stadium will be no easy task, but Gronowski’s accountability in his postgame press conference and penchant for winning big games should provide a golden opportunity for a bounce-back performance.
Turnovers have played a key role in determining the outcome of this rivalry. he Hawkeyes went five years without a turnover in this contest, but the Cyclones forced three in their 2022 victory and Iowa hasn’t escaped a game without one since. The Hawkeyes lost the turnover battle in the 2024 matchup, which allowed Iowa State to come back from 13 down and steal a victory. Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht has been perfect through two games, and he’s bound to make a mistake against the Hawkeyes.
Becht entered the year with a lot of preseason hype, and he’s lived up to it so far. The third-year signal caller has tossed 461 passing yards and five touchdowns in two games, including a near-perfect 19/20 for 278 yards in Iowa State’s 55-7 win over South Dakota last week.
Becht can also make plays with his legs, rushing for 33 yards and a touchdown this season. Iowa struggled to contain Albany quarterback Jack Shields in the first half, allowing the quarterback to scramble for several first downs. he Hawkeyes settled down in the second half, but defensive coordinator Phil Parker will have to figure out a way to generate more pressure and keep Becht in the pocket.
Mark Gronowski’s highly-anticipated Hawkeye debut did not go as planned. The senior quarterback finished ust 44 passing yards against the Great Danes, missing several open throws in the process. But Gronowski is used to the spotlight, having played in and won two FCS National Championship Games with South Dakota State. Playing in front of 60,000 roaring
I’m disappointed in how I played today,” Gronowski said after the Albany game. “But this season, it’s a whole ourney. It’s a long ourney. an keep improving every single week. Me and the receivers are going to continue to get better every single week.”
This goes hand-in-hand with containing Becht, but allowing big plays became an Achilles Heel for Iowa’s defense last year. The Hawkeyes allowed a crucial 75-yard touchdown to Jaylin Noel in last season’s matchup, which played a key role in Iowa’s State’s stunning comeback. That play proved to be a bad omen for the Hawkeyes, as their defense struggled in disappointing road losses against Michigan State and UCLA.
The Hawkeyes don’t have much of a sample size to go on after playing a bad Albany team, but the Cyclones’ star receivers from the 2024 game – Noel and Jayden Higgins – are now in the NFL.
Kirk Ferentz has won a lot of big games in his long tenure on the Iowa sideline, but a win on Saturday may be his most treasured accomplishment. Ferentz’s victory in the season-opener against Albany tied him with legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes for all-time wins by a Big Ten head coach. Ferentz will break the record with a win in Jack Trice Stadium, a place that he is no stranger to breaking milestones in, having won his 200th career game there in 2023.”When we get there, and hopefully it’s early in the season, we’ll celebrate it afterwards and it’ll be something that’s really cool to see,”general manager Tyler Barnes said.
Iowa football sta , current and former players reflect on Kirk Ferentz’s incoming milestone
Ferentz will surpass legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes as the all-time Big Ten wins leader with a victory over rival Iowa State on Saturday.
No matter the accomplishment, Kirk Ferentz is always quick to de ect the attention from himself.
The 70-year-old Iowa coaching legend has won 205 games, two ig en championships, four ig en oach of the ear awards, and two national coach of the year honors in Iowa ity, but his focus always remains on improving each week.
erentz’s even-keeled attitude after aturday’s - win over Albany didn’t convey the significance of his victory. erentz is now tied with legendary hio tate coach oody Hayes for all-time wins by a ig en head coach and could break the record with a win at in-state rival Iowa tate on aturday.
He kind of shunned it off, and he said, on’t worry about it when he retires,’ Iowa quarterback ark ronowski said after Iowa’s - win over Albany. ut I’m happy for him. It’s a big accomplishment for him, but we’re going to keep winning all season.
I’m ust happy to be coaching, erentz told ig en Network on Aug. . his has been talked about more outside of our building.
any of the Iowa players and coaching staff share that same sentiment. heir focus is winning games on the field, not winning to fit a media storyline.
He’d be the first to tell you he’s not too worried about that, Iowa general manager Tyler Barnes said at Iowa media day on Aug. . I certainly know he’s not going to make a big deal out of
first season at Iowa in . he Hawkeyes won ust one game that season, but it will always hold a special place in arker’s heart.
hil arker, then 6, had already established himself as a well-respected college coach. He spent seasons as oledo’s defensive backs coach, serving under Hall of ame head coaches ary inkel and Nick aban also his coach at ichigan tate .
after Norm’s retirement. he Hawkeyes’ defense was already a well-respected unit under Norm, but arker has taken the team to the next level.
it moving forward.
verything you hear from the outside is proven true erentz’s humility doesn’t keep the Hawkeyes from celebrating recent milestone victories. he coach will be the first to admit that he’s an emotional guy, and those emotions poured out in the locker room after a 202 win over Iowa tate. he 20- triumph marked Ferentz’s 200th career win as a college head coach, and he was given the game ball by defensive coordinator hil arker, who choked up while congratulating his boss.
he erentz- arker tandem has been together since erentz’s
erentz quickly took notice of hil arker’s strong leadership abilities, but the deciding factor that lured arker away was when his old defensive coordinator, Norm arker, of no relation, was hired as erentz’s new defensive coordinator.
nderstanding what Iowa was all about, playing in the ig en, and understanding what they’ve done, Norm arker told he Athletic in 20 . I really didn’t know irk at the time, but Norm said there might be an opportunity.
Norm arker remained Iowa’s defensive backs coach through the 20 season, when he was elevated to defensive coordinator
Iowa has allowed fewer than 20 points over the last nine seasons, the only team in the nation to do so. his success earned arker the 202 royles Award, given to the top assistant coach in college football. he Hawkeyes have responded by giving arker a significant salary increase, and he will make over 2 million in 202 .
Norm arker, 62, has likely received offers to become a head coach elsewhere, but has chosen to remain loyal to erentz and Iowa. Now, arker gets the chance to help his boss make history. hen it comes, it comes, but it’s been a great pleasure to be working around him and being with a consistent guy of how he handles things in the last 26 going on 2 years here, Norm arker said. o I’m very lucky and fortunate to be part of that. He gave me a chance to come out here a long time ago, and I really
appreciate that.”
Iowa’s coaching staff features several former Hawkeyes, including special teams coordinator e ar oods, a member of erentz’s first Iowa team, and defensive line coach elvin ell, who oined Iowa in 2000 before suffering a career-ending in ury. any of these men have spent nearly half their lives with erentz, so his impact on their lives is obvious.
ut what about some of the newest members of the staff
New running backs coach mar oung has been on staff since arch , replacing adell etts, another former Hawkeye player under erentz. oung, who has 0 years of N coaching experience, was quick to brush off the incoming record, but that didn’t stop him from praising how erentz runs his Iowa program.
verything you hear from the outside is proven true, oung said. And when that day comes, it’ll be a great deal. I’ll be thankful and blessed to be a part of that. ut every single day, we’re trying to get better, right And that’s the focus. veryone loves playing for him
Ask any player from the erentz era, past or present, and they will have nothing but good things to say about their coach. Iowa has featured plenty of star talent in erentz’s 26 seasons in Iowa ity, but the attention now turns to this season’s Hawkeyes, who need one more win to clinch the historical mark.
Iowa will have to take down in-state rival Iowa tate on the road to do so. erentz has clinched milestones in Ames before, winning his 200th career game at ack rice tadium in 202 . ifth-year wide receiver aden et en was on that squad. he senior has many fond memories of erentz, but his favorite moments with erentz have been some of his most important victories, namely a win over Illinois later in that season that clinched the ig en est for Iowa.
e went to the ig en hampionship already with him, and ust kind of getting him, I can’t remember what accolade he had,
a wild one for hillips, but it also allowed him to marvel at his legendary head coach.
Now that I’ve kind of settled here, ust realizing the legendary run he’s [ erentz] been on, hillips said. e don’t talk about a lot, but ust when you bring it up, it’s definitely a ma or accomplishment.
As the 202 team prepares to clinch erentz’s elusive mark on the field, his former players are eagerly watching from afar. ne of those players is rew ate, the star quarterback on Iowa’s 200 team, who earned a share of the ig en title with ichigan.
was the icing on the cake.
he meeting took place in ecember 2002, shortly after erentz and Iowa concluded a memorable - campaign that culminated in a share of the ig en championship. he Hawkeyes were on top of the college football world at the time and were preparing to face outhern alifornia in the 200 range owl, but that didn’t stop erentz from maintaining his professionalism with ate.
[He’s] a very polished and professional man, ate recalled. I thought it was ust a different avor of barbecue than the
but I think he might have passed somebody that could have been what it was, but it’s ust cool, et en said.
He’s an awesome guy. verybody loves playing for him, and we’re ust super excited to try to get him to that level this year. et en’s story is one that has been a common theme in the erentz era an unheralded walk-on turned star player. et en began his career at the unior college level with Iowa estern, but he’s now regarded as one of the N AA’s best kick returners, earning first-team All-American honors after tallying over ,000 returning yards in 202 .
At the start of last year, I don’t mind telling you, I was a little curious and anxious and whatever, and boy, he ust played great as a return guy, erentz said.
am hillips’ road to Iowa hasn’t been as winding as et en’s, but it has still provided many ups and downs. he fourth-year wideout received few offers out of high school and decided to stay in his home state of ennessee and play for hattanooga. Iowa added hillips from the transfer portal in the winter after he led the outhern onference with 2 receiving yards. he transition from the moky ountains to cornfields has been
ate’s ourney to Iowa ity was far from traditional. he exas native initially committed to in-state power exas A , but was forced to look elsewhere after longtime Aggies coach . . locum was dismissed after the 2002 season.
aylor, Houston, and yracuse immediately showed interest in ate, but Iowa soon became the frontrunner for two reasons. he first was a strong connection between ate’s stepfather, ick lin, and his high school football coach, arl ackson, who was then the longtime Hawkeye running backs coach.
he relationship began in the late 0s. lin had already established himself as an up-and-coming young head coach in linton, Iowa, while ackson was ust beginning his long stint in the Hawkeye tate, having been successfully coaxed by Hayden ry to make the leap from North exas to Iowa in .
He [ ackson] had called my dad, and he had heard the head coach [ locum] at A might be on the chopping block, ate said. And that’s kind of how it all got started.
lin, who grew up in Iowa and played for Northern Iowa in the mid- 60s, always hoped ate would play for the Hawkeyes. lin’s connections to the program and the state made the Hawkeyes a viable option, but ate’s first meeting with erentz
barbecue in exas.
ne month later, ate was a Hawkeye. It’s ust funny how it all worked out, he said.
After spending his freshman campaign learning Iowa’s system through erentz’s informational practice routines, ate was named the Hawkeyes’ new signal-caller for the 200 season, the first underclassman to do so. Iowa was coming off another 0-win
Power Rankings
season in 2003, resulting in sky-high expectations from fans and the local media. Those lofty goals appeared to be in danger after the Hawkeyes opened 2004 with a measly 2-2 start. ut erentz and his staff were quick to keep the team focused on the
next team.”
Ferentz’s 2004 team wouldn’t need another 24-hour rule. The Hawkeyes blasted Michigan State by 22 points the following week, which kicked off a six-game winning streak to set up a de facto Big Ten championship game at Kinnick Stadium against rival Wisconsin.
Iowa won the game, 30-7, to claim its 11th and most recent Big Ten title.
“To win it at night at Kinnick, the mecca of college football, was also something,” Tate said.
After playing 12 seasons in the Canadian Football League, Tate transitioned into coaching, where he currently serves as an offensive assistant for the Toronto Argonauts. Tate and Ferentz’s busy schedules limit them to occasional congratulatory text messages, but that hasn’t stopped Tate from modeling Ferentz’s coaching style.
road ahead, going so far as to ush a toilet in the weight room to show the players that it was time to move on to the next opponent.
The toilet story is one of many examples of Ferentz’s infamous 24-hour rule, where Iowa spends only 24 hours discussing the previous week’s loss before ipping the page to the next game.
“The biggest thing is learning from it on Sunday, and then you move on,” Ferentz said at Iowa media day. “We don’t have time to celebrate. We have to get moving on to the
“There was always respect and class,” Tate said. “Those are always top things. And so I always think that that’s such a good thing that you want to bring to the table in this profession.”
While Tate’s coaching career is just beginning, his college coach is now one win away from history. Tate is grateful to have played a small part in Ferentz’s legendary Hawkeye career.
“I just think about how he and the program have changed many lives and the way that they’ve changed them,” Tate said. “It’s a special place. You’ve only had two head coaches in 50 years.”
Weekly Wager
On The Line
The Daily Iowan sta shares their thoughts on this week’s upcoming games
One on One: Sam Phillips
The Cha anooga transfer talked about favorite music, childhood memories, and biggest pet peeve.
The Daily Iowan : Do you collect anything?
Sam Phillips: I’m starting to collect old games, like Playstation 2, modded PSP, stuff like that. Cleats too, I collect cleats.
What is your best childhood memory?
Probably going to the state championship when I was in 10U football.
What emoji do you use the most often?
Probably the laughing emoji with the tears.
What is the most awkward situation you ever found yourself in?
I don’t know, that’s tough. I’ve had a lot. Probably just when some people don’t have social awareness. Like, if I’m in a group and someone’s doing something where they don’t have social awareness. I don’t feel awkward, but I feel embarrassed. It just makes you cringe.
Where is the coolest place you’ve traveled?
I recently visited Chicago. I think Chicago is a nice place. I like it.
Tell us an embarrassing story.
I was in pee wee football. I was running and had broke like a 40-yarder, and the dude who tackled me pulled my
pants down as I was getting tackled.
What is your favorite music genre?
I like every genre. I like rap, country, gospel, and R&B
When did you fi rst feel like an adult? first felt like an adult probably when I first went off to college in my freshman year. Just being by myself for real in a dorm, not being around my parents.
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
My biggest pet peeve is when people touch my stuff without asking me. Like, they’ll ask me as they touch it or they just grab it without asking.
Kid Captain James Hall defying odds, living life to the fullest
Diagnosed with a third brain tumor in 2023,
Hall was given just 9-11 months to live. He’s never lost hope and is now a Kid Captain.
James Hall has been through the halls of the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital countless times, but it never gets easier for the five-year-old.
“I’m scared,” he always tells his parents as he goes into the hospital. One in every 200,000 people are born with Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis every year, a cancer-like condition that occurs when a person’s body builds up with too many immature Langerhans cells.
In the state of Iowa, 40,000 kids are born per year, leaving only one child born with the rare disorder every five years. Five years ago, it was James. The Hall family went to the doctor thinking it was an ear infection. Instead, they came out with the weight of a cancer-like disorder — soon to be diagnosed as Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis — on their shoulders, as well as two brain tumors.
The UI never felt the same for the Halls. There was no more buzz driving through Iowa City and past Kinnick Stadium. To James, all of it represented was his diagnoses. It was all he knew.
“He likes watching football, he looks at the football stadium,” Ashley Hall, James’ mother, said. “But he calls Iowa ‘Dr. Dickens’. The Stead Family Hospital, the football field, it’s Iowa Hawkeyes, but [for him] it’s ‘Dr. Dickens’.”
However, it was during one of James’ several chemo treatments when Iowa began to feel more like Iowa. In a place that James had associated with pain, the Hall family got a call of the alternative — James was chosen to be a Kid Captain of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
“He thought it was pretty cool,” Ashley said. “It was something different and unique, so he was excited at that time to see what the opportunity would be.”
Ashley and her husband Nate described James as a typical kid who enjoys videogames, being active outside and listening to music— but they also described him as a miracle.
When another brain tumor was discovered
in May of 2023, James was given a 9-11 month prognosis. Now, the five-year old has lived two years past that, never losing hope.
“Nobody knows what tomorrow is going to bring,” Ashley said. “You always have to hold onto hope for miracles, and here he is today. Live your life to the fullest, and miracles really do come true.”
Inspired by James’ journey, the Hall family recently started the Why We Wave Foundation, a non-profi t organization that raises money to help other families in Iowa who have been affected by cancer.
“We feel that because we’ve been given more time with him, it would be a waste of that extra time to not do something positive and to not put a purpose to his cancers and his health conditions,” Ashley said.
James is currently in treatment for his third recurrence of LCH, receiving care from Stead Family Children’s Hospital for one week every month. His treatment is expected to be complete in April of 2026.
“Being brave doesn’t mean you’re scared,” James’ parents tell him. “It means you’re doing it anyway.”
Game Guide
